AP keen on defence, aero electronics investments

Visakhapatnam: Hard-selling investment potential of Andhra Pradesh, State Minister for Industries, Commerce and IT Mekapati Goutham Reddy on Wednesday sought investments into defence engineering and aerospace electronics identified as focus areas under the 'Make in AP' campaign to explore the 974-km long coastline, connectivity advantage and huge talent pool.

He spoke about the State's vision while delivering the keynote address, at Defence Electronics & Startups Interoperability Conclave named DESI-2021 at the newly launched Hotel Radisson Blu. The programme organised by the Department of IT and Electronics and AP Electronics & IT Agency (APEITA) was addressed by top officials from the Navy, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and several entrepreneurs and startups involved in MSMEs supplying various equipment to the defence sector. Director General of Naval Projects Vice Admiral Sreekumar Nair, APEITA Group CEO M Nanda Kishore and AP IT Academy CEO Anil Kumar were among those present.

AP has a young, vibrant economy with a robust industrial base and a young talent pool. The State has well-connected infrastructure of roads, rail and ports, with GDP comprising about 5 percent to the national GDP. The State is ranked No. 1 in the Ease of doing business rankings by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, (DPIIT), Government of India.

The State Government officials gave details on how AP is emerging as a destination for investments in defence and aerospace sector with six existing airports, Eastern Naval Command headquarters in Visakhapatnam, the presence of ISRO in Sriharikota, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, Bharat Dynamics Ltd, other defence PSUs and several projects being in the pipeline.

Goutham Reddy said AP has abundant opportunities to strike synergies towards manufacturing of defence and aerospace electronics, accessories, equipment and technologies. "We have a vibrant and evolving business ecosystem in place, with a prospective, well connected supply chain and I'm sure this can be utilised by the organisations," he pointed out.

In terms of nurturing the growth of industries in the State, AP could very well be a forerunner with investor-friendly policies to ensure that there will be next to no hassles in the set-up of any industry, manufacturing facility or imparting services given our investor-friendly, investor first approach.

He said in terms of startup development, the State Government has been focusing on the setting up of business and technology incubators to provide budding entrepreneurs with a collaborative and innovation-friendly atmosphere. "Our incubation activities under the umbrella of AP Innovation services (APIS) has been to welcome entrepreneurs and innovators to set up shop in our State," he declared.

The Minister said "we are also mulling to work more on the setting up of more centres of excellence and start-up accelerators, besides providing some sort of mentorship support through industry veterans and experts. We should also be focusing on further strengthening our R&D facilities through more centres of excellence focusing on advanced technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), additive technologies and 3D printing."

Reddy said with the future tilting towards smart manufacturing, smarter workforces, e-waste management and reduction and more investments on facilities and conveniences to capitalize time and reduce costs, AP would become the perfect destination for nurturing startups with the introduction of proactive policies and initiatives by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Stating that AP is on an exciting trajectory of growth, he said collaborative measures in avenues like defence and aerospace sectors are very much needed between the industry and the State for the greater goal of nation building. With the happening and incumbent ecosystem of AP and the expertise of all the pioneers from the defence, aerospace industries and startup facilitation experts, the State could all together carve a business-oriented and goal-oriented path in these domains.

He congratulated the naval officials for their contribution in the recent commissioning of indigenously built INS Visakhapatnam-the first stealth-guided missile destroyer ship built under Project 15B.